Do Hate Crime Laws Do Any Good?
By Liliana Segura, AlterNet. Posted August 4, 2009.

http://www.alternet.org/rights/141724/do_hate_crime_laws_do_any_good_/


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Despite supporters' contention that they will make vulnerable communities safer, there is little proof that hate crimes laws prevent violent crimes against minority groups. Meanwhile, the U.S. prison system continues to swallow up more and more Americans at a record pace. With 1 in 100 Americans behind bars, is a fight for tougher sentencing really a fight worth waging? ...

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The Human Rights Campaign argued that passage of the Shepard Act would "put would-be perpetrators on notice that our society does not tolerate bias-motivated, violent crime." But what happens when the perpetrators are those whose duty it is to supposedly enforce the law?

But that's not the real world. The South executes far more convicted murderers than any other region, yet has a homicide rate far above the national average. Texas' murder rate is slightly above average, despite the state's peerless deployment of the death penalty. If capital punishment were an effective deterrent to homicide, shouldn't we expect the opposite result?

QFT

Fact is, most people doing such acts are not thinking of the penalties.

Well there was a lot of work done at one time in American Studies stuff about the Frontier Mystique, the Six-Gun Society, that pointed to that notion.

I don't believe any laws truly prevent crime. If a person is determined to commit a crime, they will do it regardless of the possible consequences. However, laws do deter a lot of crime for people who are concerned about the consequences. I'm sure if we had a completely lawless society tomorrow, things would get out of hand within minutes.

At least hate crimes laws allow authorities to track hate crime incidents and the penalties incorporate hate-based crimes as a motive. Courts when determining punishment have always taken into account the motive. This is why a person who killed a spouse in a fit of rage would generally receive less time than someone who pre-planned a murder over an inheritance deal. Someone who goes around targeting people because of a group they belong to can be said to be terrorizing an entire community. While the person is no more dead or special than anyone else killed, the motive behind the killing and the results of it are more damaging to the society at large than some other types of murders. That is why I'm for hate crimes laws.

As to true prevention, most authorities will say that the more difficult you make yourself from becoming a victim, the more likely the criminal will find an easier target. This goes with just about any crime. A criminal could still defeat a steering wheel club on your car or get through ten locks on your house if they are truly determined but chances are they will target the next car or the next house with less security. If a serial killer is out there looking to harm TG people they are likely to go after the easiest victims. While we don't want to hear about any hate crimes ever happening, we can at least take steps to minimize it happening to us or our friends. If the sicko is watching you and you appear strong, difficult, and potentially a challenging fight and there is someone right across the street who is drunk, unalert, and appears helpless and stupid, they will likely go after that person. Nothing is 100% certain though. Be careful out there.

No law will protect anyone.  What can a law do?

The enforcement of the law is what makes a law effective.  And if the law enforcement agencies don't care about your rights, the law is ineffective.

Changing the way law enforcement approaches a crime is the key to effective laws.

If a Transwoman is attacked and beaten up, police sometimes will look the other way.  That is a fact of life.  This is what needs to be change.

Janet

Did anti-discrimination laws have any effect on discrimination?  Yes.  Did they end discrimination?  No.  Did they raise awareness discrimination is wrong?  Yes.

There was a former Aryan enforcer who was interviewed in prison and said if he was born a few hundred years ago he would be a hero because he was a warrior.  But today's laws have made him a criminal.  The people he killed he believed deserved it.  They were not human to him.  But the world he lives in today will not tolerate killing.  Now he understands why and regrets taking the lives he took.

Hate crime laws will not end hate but they will raise awareness that it's wrong to hate.  Dehumanization is part of the hate/harm/kill process and allows people to justify their actions.  It's like squashing a bug.  Hate crime laws are basically the government saying "They are people too.  Treat them so."  If your government will punish you for your actions then maybe it's time to reconsider.

It's a start.

Julie